That Damn Warlock
by officialbookworm
Summary: Meet Alec Lightwood, who, accidentally falls in love with a warlock. Yeah I'll leave you with that. MALEC FIC. R&R please. May contain fluff. And some swearing.
1. Chapter 1

As the lone shadowhunter made his way down the snowy lane towards the large, and vaguely familiar house situated near the end of the street he again asked himself what was drawing him to this house, and more importantly, its owner.

Alexander Lightwood had always been a little impulsive, a little too straightforward, if his mind told him to do something he usually did, but this particular venture may have been classed as just plain reckless compared with previous ideas he may have had. He didn't exactly know what he was expecting when he got to the house. It had taken him many days of relentless soul searching to muster the courage it had taken on his part to make this simple walk across town.

He remembered the first and only time he had ever visited this particular establishment. He recalled all the bodies moving simultaneously to the faerie band playing in the corner, a sort of dark magic lingered in the air. Multi coloured drinks and cups sprawled on almost every surface he set his eyes upon, left by guests who fancied a dance instead of consuming the intoxicating fluids found in the cups. Not only were the beverages different hues either, the room was filled with people of an array of different colours. Some even had differently coloured limbs, all the colours seemed to blend together if you stared in at the dance floor for too long. The euphoric feeling in every crevice in the room, it was a little infectious and probably would have tempted Alec if he hadn't had years of Shadowhunter training to keep him on a firm leash – it was a business affair to which they found themselves there, not pleasure. Therefore Alec had kept a slightly impassive, if not bored, expression throughout his brief stay.

And of course he remembered the host - all glitter and magic. Alec thought he might have a fit when he first laid eyes upon this warlock. After you got past the layers of carefully applied glitter and make-up and hair gel – which was pretty dazzling in itself – you were met with one of the most unlikely appearances for a warlock known to man. He was thin, lean and had spiky dark hair held imperceptibly by hair gel, but what had caught Alec's attention has been his eyes. The oddest combination of yellow and green gave them a rather feline look to them; they were bright and piercing and strayed to Alec quite a lot throughout his fleeting stay. His companions may not have thought it but Alec found him rather imposing. He'd certainly made some sort of impression on him, hence why he was strolling purposefully towards his house, still a little unsure on what he actually wanted to say to the warlock in question, just knowing he had to say _something_ before the suspense made him spontaneously combust.

He also remembered the flirtatious manner in which he had bid farewell to a spluttering Alec on that night. The wink and the cheeky request for Alec to call him had certainly left its mark, he just wasn't entirely sure why. He'd been fine loving Jace from a far for the past 6 years with only Izzy knowing of his biggest secret. He'd come to terms with this unrequited love long ago, even if it hurt a little to think about. Then he had to be drawn to a damn warlock, _a downworlder _of all people_._ Eventually it had driven him stark crazy, he needed to confront his feelings and stop being such a baby. He knew he couldn't leave here without some serious answers. The party to which they may or may not have accidentally gate crashed only happened about a week or so ago, but it felt like an eternity to Alec.

This particular warlock also happened to have saved Alec's life when he was an inch from death a few short days ago. Alec, having recently received a nearly fatal injury from a greater demon, was so close to death he probably had tea with Jesus. That was until a certain warlock had shown up in the nick of time and nursed him back to health, effectively saving his ass. Then, after saving his life when he didn't have to, said warlock just disappeared, without so much as a thank you from Alec. The guilt from this had been a strong contribution to why he was purposefully strolling to his house, he at least needed to say thank him for saving his life when he hadn't had the chance to previously.

It'd been easier than he thought to get out of the Institute without arousing suspicion. Jace would be too busy drooling over Clary somewhere to notice his absence, Isabelle was out shopping and wouldn't be back until that night and his parents were still away with Max. All he'd had to do was come up with a quick excuse to Jace and not seem too distressed on the way out. As long as he met Jace at the right time for training later, all would be dandy.

The wind picked up a little as Alec neared his destination, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. A sudden gust of wind blew at him from behind, almost urging him forward, like it was as impatient for this meeting as Alec was. _Don't be stupid, forces of nature are not working with you here. Get a grip on yourself, idiot._ He stuffed his hands into the furrows of his coat; head bent against the wind in case it changed direction and rounded the last corner to the house in which he seeks.

The house of Magnus Bane.

High Warlock of Brooklyn.

_Why am I doing this again? _He thought as he got closer to the house. _It's not going to change anything no matter what either of us says. I bet he'll laugh in my face and throw me out. Or worse, tell Jace or Clary that I'd arrived uninvited on his doorstep. That would take some explaining._

Alec shook his head to clear it of all these negative thoughts, if he was planning on getting some sleep any time soon he had to suck it up and talk to the damn warlock. He reached the right house, took a deep breath in a useless attempt to calm himself and walked the last remaining distance between himself and the door. Only now that he was actually here did he seriously think about what he would say to Magnus. He just stood there and stared at the intercom. After a minute or two he felt faintly foolish just staring at his door. _Come on, Alec, you can do this. By the angel, you're a shadowhunter so grow some._

"You're right!" he said, finally noticing that he had said the last bit out loud. Blushing slightly at his own ignorance, he raised a hand and pressed the little button found next to Magnus's name of the intercom. There was the briefest of pauses, in which Alec held his breath, and then a tired voice came from the intercom and said, "Magnus Bane."

At a loss for what to say, he blew out a shaky breath to try and clear his thoughts. A few beads of sweat started to collect in the palms of his hands, the nerves starting to get the better of him.

"If this is some kind of wolfish prank, I must forewarn you that I am not in the grandest of moods right now. So if you wish to leave here with your body as you found it, I suggest you move your ass away from my door." With that said the intercom went dead.

Not quite sure what to do, Alec pressed the button again, this time with a clearer idea of what he would say. His hand trembled a little, anticipating how this meeting might end.

"You are seriously messing with the wrong warlock today." Magnus growled down the intercom. At least a mundane hadn't heard him declare himself to be a warlock, that'd produce some awkward questions.

Summoning his courage he made the leap. "Er, Magnus? It's Alec. I was at your p-party the other day." He hoped his voice didn't sound as pathetic as he thought it had. He didn't want to bring up the whole saving-his-life thing yet so he went with the safer option.

"Doesn't ring a bell, are you a vampire?" he asked, his irritation still colouring his tone

"No, I'm a shadowhunter."

"Oh god, you're not _that_ one, are you? Oh well you can piss off, blondie."

Knowing he meant Jace, Alec hastily said, " No, I'm not Jace. I'm the other one. Alexander Lightwood."

A moment's pause. Alec didn't dare to breathe.

Magnus's voice now had an uncanny resemblance to a purr when he responded. "Oh, you're the _other_ one. What can I do you for, Alexander?" He seemed to say Alec's name with a relish that made Alec a tad breathless.

"I just wanted to, er, talk to you, but if now's an inconvenient time I could… come back another time." A small part of Alec kind of wished he was busy, so he didn't have to face his demons, so to speak.

"Nonsense," he purred, "I have plenty of time, please, do come in." Again, the intercom went dead, but the door beeped and opened slightly, allowing Alec entrance. He unconsciously wiped his still slightly sweaty palms on his jeans as he made his way up the stairs and to a second door. When he reached the door in question, he raised his hand and tentatively knocked on it. As soon as his hand made contact with the wooden door it swung open to reveal a rather breathless Magnus, standing elaborately next to the doors hinges.

Magnus looked very similar to how he looked the last time he saw him, still with the glitter in his hair, make up colouring his face. Except this time, he was wore very tight skinny jeans and a tight white top that showed his biceps in all the right places. Not that Alec was looking of course. Upon seeing Alec, he grinned at the rather embarrassed shadowhunter. He pushed away slightly from his position in the doorway to get a better view of Alec and asked in a voice full of playful jest at Alec's obvious discomfort, "So, as I already asked, what can I do you for, gorgeous?" He ended with a wink.

Alec, like the great idiot he was, tried to form a coherent sentence under the close scrutiny of Magnus's gaze. Yeah, he failed.

"Er, yeah… I, um… What I…?"

Magnus just grinned again, obviously revelling in the poor boys uneasiness. He just became more embarrassed when he felt himself turning beet red.

"What? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that?" He purred in that same tone as before, moving slightly closer to Alec as he posed the question.

Alec exhaled in another futile attempt to calm himself, sweat started to collect in his palms again. He just mumbled another incoherent sentence and averted his eyes form Magnus's and found a new found interest in his shoes.

"Hey," he said, whilst reaching a hand out to gently lift his chin so meet his gaze, "I'll get us some tea and we can talk, once you can remember how to. Okay?" Some sort of electricity seemed to flow through Magnus's fingers and Alec's cheek when they made contact. _Was that supposed to happen? I bet he's trying to burn me because I'm blushing, the bastard!_ But Alec found himself weirdly liking that odd feeling, no matter what he told himself.

Alec found himself nodding and followed Magnus into another room; this was obviously some sort of sitting room. Magnus continued through another door that led off from this one with a quick "Have a seat," thrown over his shoulder. Alec sat and looked, dumbfounded at his new surroundings.

It was a fairly large room with some armchairs of a duck egg blue located just in front of Alec. There was a furnished coffee table perched between three of the armchairs, forming a circle around it. A loveseat could be found to Alec's left. There was a rather eccentric carpet found in the centre of the room. The windows let in a fraction of the light, situated along the right wall, the closed curtains blowing in the breeze coming in from the open window. A large lamp was found on a small wooden table in the corner next to the door in which Magnus just went through. Old fashioned paintings hung around the room, making it feel a little lighter, if that was possible.

Feeling a little stupid just standing there, Alec made his way over to one of the armchairs and perched on the edge, well aware that his nerves were as taut as a wire. It was for this reason that Alec nearly jumped half a mile when a ball of fur streaked from under an adjacent armchair and landed on his lap. Chairman Meow was perched, noticeably at ease, on the top of Alec's legs. He tentatively reached out a hand to stroke the cat. He brushed his hand through the soft fur again and again when the cat showed no sign of resistance; Chairman Meow let out a contented purr and snuggled further into Alec's lap. Alec smiled a little, seeing how content the cat seemed to be.

"Well Chairman Meow seems to like you," said a booming voice from behind Alec. He flinched a little at the sound of his voice, having been momentarily distracted.

"Yeah, I guess s-so." Alec said whilst still looking down at the cat in his lap.

"He's an _excellent_ judge of character." He was using that voice again; it made Alec's discomfort increase. He finally snuck a look at Magnus standing leisurely in the doorway. _He seems to have a thing for doorways,_ Alec thought distractedly. Now he was carrying a tray with two cups of steaming liquid, a cup of what appeared to be milk, a bowl of sugar and a packet of biscuits. Magnus moved towards where Alec was perched, sliding the tray onto the table and sitting comfortably on the chair to Alec's right, the one, he noted, that was closer to the chair he was sitting in than the third. At closer inspection he found that the biscuits were malted milks, which just so happened to be Alec's favourite biscuits, yum but weird.

Alec glanced at Magnus again and was met with his piercing eyes; he couldn't seem to look away. He could feel the heat rush to his cheeks again. He had to get a grip on himself if he wanted the warlock to talk, he couldn't keep tripping over his words whenever he opened his mouth.

"So," he began, not sure where to go with this sentence. Seeing no way that Magnus hadn't heard him, Alec rushed to pour milk and on sugar into his tea.

"So?" Magnus enquired, quirking a perfectly shaped brow at his unfinished sentence.

"Any, er, more parties p-planned soon? You seem to enjoy throwing t-them." He finished stupidly, _I sound so pathetic, shoot me now_, he thought.

"Why? Would you like an invite?" he asked devilishly. Then, seeing that if he teased Alec further he probably wouldn't get a coherent response from the boy, added, "No, I haven't got any plans for another. Considering you and your little Nephilim friends and pet mundane sort of crashed it last time." He didn't sound annoyed, just amused.

"Yeah, sorry about that, it was a tense n-night." He said, stuttering slightly.

"That's understandable. Clary had just found out her mother had made her blind to her world, your mundane was turned into a rat, and said mundane then ended up in the clutches of a hungry vampire clan. It wasn't a very good night for you shadowhunters really." He grinned, finding humour in their unfortunate circumstances. Alec should have been annoyed, but he just laughed along.

"Oh, we found the mundane by the way. Jace and Clary broke into the vampire lair uptown and stole him back. They completely whooped vamp ass, even got away on one of their motorcycles," he grinned suddenly. "With a little help from the werewolves of course," he added wryly. He seemed to gain a little more confidence the longer he sat there.

"Werewolves? What were the Moon's Children doing in a vampire lair?" He asked curiously, picking up his own cup of tea after adding what he needed to. Alec noticed the odd way that Magnus looked at him when he mentioned Clary and Jace.

"We have no idea, Jace says they just turned up out of nowhere and chased them, taking out a vampire or two in the process," he grinned at the thought. He wasn't very fond of vampires, but they were tolerable.

"Now that I would have paid to see, but what an odd combination. Were you not accompanying them on this particular venture?" he asked, his eyes sparkling at the new information.

"No, Izzy and I were ahead of them, we weren't even aware that they were no longer behind us until they were half way to the hotel." He ended with a chuckle. "I didn't half feel like an idiot, losing my parbatai and his friend."

"That must have been a surprise." He chuckled then after a moment's pause added, "Jace's friend? Does that imply that she is not a friend of yours?" Curiosity coloured his tone again as he posed the question.

A brief awkward silence followed. How is he meant to say that he doesn't like Clary because Jace is obsessed with her and has never shown an interest in anything before other than himself and that he - Alec - was irrevocably in love with Jace, and doing all that without letting slip that he's gay? That didn't seem possible. Magnus was staring at him, obviously waiting for an answer.

"We, er, don't really, um, see eye to eye," he said at last, albeit lamely, carefully diverting his eyes a fraction to the left.

"How so?" Magnus asked, noticing the way Alec had seized up again.

"We just don't agree on, er, any- many things. We're nothing alike and I… just don't really know her, er, that well." Alec couldn't help but avert his eyes again as he said this, thinking that the lie was so obvious it was laughable.

Magnus just stared at him, he stared at Alec in a way that made him feel naked, like all the regrets, all the problems, the hostile thoughts he'd ever had were shown on his face - Alec seemed to be completely immobilized. They must have sat like that for eons, perched on the edges of their plush armchairs, both squeezing their tea cups so hard it must have been painful. Finally, Magnus put down his cup and leaned back in his armchair.

"Oh," was all he said. An awkward silence ensued, broken only by the occasional purr from Chairman Meow, who was still lain contently in Alec's lap. He was at a complete loss as to what he should say now, and just as he had a conversation flowing. Not the particular conversation he wanted but still a comfortable one at that.

"He really is an _excellent_ judge of character." Magnus said abruptly, indicating the lounging cat. "Always runs away just before one of my parties, even if most of them are _for_ him."

A little stunned that Magnus had spoken and not enquired about the blatantly obvious lie, he recovered himself and said, "He seems like a clever cat. Why doesn't he like your, um, parties exactly?"

"All the vampires and faeries and other downworlders make him nervous," he chuckled, "and he says they smell terribly." He added, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Alec laughed. "Wow, well I can't say I could disagree with him."

"They do have a bizarre odour about them, don't they?" He laughed along with Alec.

Alec finally saw fit to get in his rehearsed gratitude to Magnus, therefore he took a deep breath, relaxed in his seat a little and said, "Magnus, I wanted to say thank you for saving my life."

Magnus saw the sincerity in Alec's voice. "Ah, so we finally reach the reason of your unexpected venture to my house." He paused. "You're welcome, I guess?" He finished uncertainly. He looked a little uncomfortable for some reason.

"You didn't have to, you could have walked away, or not bothered showing up at all, but you stayed and you saved my life. I didn't get a chance to say anything to you before you left, so thank you. And that's only one of the reasons I came here." He couldn't continue looking into his penetrating eyes as he said this, so he let his eyes flicker to a clock found just above Magnus's head. He saw the time and his heart sank a little. He had to meet Jace at 5 for training, it was half past 4.

Before he could give Magnus a chance to reply he hastily added, "Right, er, Magnus, I have to go now. I'm meeting Jace, y'know shadowhunter training, can't let the demons get the upper hand." He knew he was rambling but he couldn't see to stop. He just seemed to make a fool out of himself whenever Magnus was involved.

Magnus looked at him in that odd way again; he'd noticed it before whenever Alec mentioned Jace or being a shadowhunter. His brow was cocked upward, in obvious contemplation, leaving Alec wondering what was going through the warlock's mind. After a minute he said, "Oh," Magnus looked a little disappointed. "Are you sure you can't stay a little longer? You never did tell me why you came here in the first place."

"No, I'm sorry. I would do, but I really can't be late." He smiled timidly at the warlock and began to stand up. "Thank you for the tea by the way."

"Not a problem." He smiled back, holding out his hand. Alec shook it, again feeling that strange electric sensation when their skin touched. Magnus seemed to feel it this time too; his face lost its composure by the tiniest division, showing Alec's mirrored confusion before he composed himself again. "I'll walk you to the door, this way, shadowhunter." He said, showing some of his earlier bravado.

He led Alec through the door they had previously come through, down a long narrow hallway and to the front door. A sudden sadness made Alec slow his pace ever so slightly. He didn't want to leave yet; he hadn't fulfilled his purpose of going there in the first place. He had liked the brief get together they'd shared, not at all excited to see it come to an end.

Magnus was standing perfectly at ease against the front door, holding it open with a half dejected half amused expression lighting his face. _Seriously, the guy must have some kind of door fetish,_ he thought. Alec made his way towards the door, only stopping when he was pleaced firmly on the other side of the door. Magnus still hadn't closed it, just stood in the same position as before.

"One more thing before you go, ease a man's curiosity, what were the other reasons?" he asked again, looking a little hopeful.

"It doesn't matter now, it'll keep." He smiled at him again, then, seeming to find some kind of newfound confidence, added, "I might, um, tell you next time I see you."

Magnus spirits seemed to lift a little at this and said flirtatiously, "So there will be a next time?"

Even if he was turning red in the face, he grasped his confidence with all he had, "Definitley." And with that he turned his back on the warlock and proceeded down the steps and back onto the street, back to reality.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec thought Jace might've said something to the fact that he, Alec, had been 5 minutes late for training the day he went to see Magnus, but he didn't. He thought Jace might've questioned him about it when they'd finished, but he didn't. The golden haired shadowhunter said nothing. Absolutely nothing. That disturbed Alec more than if Jace had confronted him about his incongruous tardiness. _I bet he was too busy pining over Clary again, _he thought, a little bitterly.

Alec was positive that Jace knew where he had been and what he'd been up to, even though it was nothing of interest to Jace nor any of his business. As he'd entered the stiflingly hot training centre after his rendezvous with Magnus, Jace had looked at him, with his probing golden eyes, as if looking straight through him. Alec was paranoid that he could read everything on his mind from just a simple glance at his face, paranoid that his thoughts were flashing across his features like a slideshow. He'd therefore dutifully avoided eye contact with Jace throughout there training, only subjecting to it when absolutely necessary. Then as Jace had left before him - Alec always insisting on doing the cleaning up – he'd paused by the door, looked back at Alec and stared at him like he was seeing him for the first time. He looked a little bewildered with a dash of surprise and a sprig of understanding. Formerly, Jace had turned and left, leaving a very confused Alec to try and interpret his parabatai's current train of thought.

He had concluded as soon as he left Magnus's house that he liked him, at least in some way. He just wasn't sure how strong those feelings might be but there was no other explanation to 1) why he went there in the first place, 2) why he had felt something when they touched, even in the smallest of gestures and 3) why he found the elusive warlock awfully attractive. He also found that he _would_ visit Magnus again; he wanted to try and sort out his feelings for the warlock and get the situation under control, to make sense of it in his own mind and to talk it out.

However, he was seriously terrified that Magnus didn't return his feelings; Alec had to know for sure that the feelings were reimbursed before he declared his undying love for the warlock. He was as inexperienced as they came when it came to relationships and feelings and all that malarkey. It didn't help that Isabelle kept dropping cryptic judgments about what she thought of the whole affair. Isabelle has known about Alec's sexuality from a young age, being the only person who had known for as long as he could remember (before Clary came along of course). That may have been one of the reasons for how close the two siblings were.

When Alec had first discovered he was different from most other guys, he'd been a wreck, an absolute shambles and too young to fully understand what it meant. Being brought up in a world where being gay was frowned upon, to suddenly discover you were attaining said obscenity was horrifying. He hadn't spoken to anyone for days, only eating and drinking when his body made him. He'd walked around dead eyed and docile, not quite knowing what to do with himself. Isabelle had thought it was just a phase, she didn't know about his sexuality at the time. Eventually it had gotten so bad that she'd confronted him about it, demanding to know why he was walking around looking like a Forsaken. As soon as he saw the deep worry in her eyes he'd broken down, just fallen to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably in Isabelle's arms. They'd remained like that for a while, Isabelle waiting patiently for Alec to cry himself out, Alec clutching Isabelle with all his might, like she was his final life line, his only attachment to reality. In due course, Alec had stopped crying, disentangled himself from Isabelle's arms and just sat there. He'd taken a deep breath and told her everything, all the gritty little details and waited for the sympathy lining her features to morph into revulsion, but none ever appeared there. She'd just sat there and listened until Alec had calmed himself down and got everything out. Then she'd told him in not so simple terms that he was an idiot and did he really think she'd abandon him over something to which he held no control. He'd been so relieved that he'd just hugged her, nearly crying again with relief, he had needed the reassurance she had given him to finally come to terms with his sexuality, one piece at a time.

Since then Isabelle and him had been virtually joined at the hip. Ever since that day, when Alec had divulged his deepest secret, given Isabelle enough trust to drown her with, something had changed between them. Izzy hadn't judged him for how he was, or shown any form of distaste towards his gender preferences, and Alec couldn't have asked anything more from his sister. He had felt a sudden respect towards her, a sudden wave of gratitude at how understanding she'd been when others would've disowned him or worse.

All these thoughts ran through his head as he made his way to his bedroom in the Institute after training with Jace. He was in desperate need of a shower; he was covered in sweat from training and probably stunk like a sewer rat.

He rounded the last corner between himself and his bedroom and almost threw himself onto his bed. Then, moving because he realized he was probably making his sheets stink too, grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom. He stepped in the shower, turned the steady water stream on and stood there, reveling in the feeling of the mild water washing away all the sweat and grit from his body. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist when he was done, he entered his room to Isabelle sitting elegantly on the edge of his bed.

"Izzy?" He asked a little bewildered. He was suddenly conscious of that fact that the only thing between him and complete nudity was the measly towel slung across his waist, he clung to it, and making sure it wouldn't fall.

"Hello, dear brother." Isabelle said, moving so she was standing in front of Alec. "I need to talk to you."

Noting her serious expression he sobered up a little. "Iz, what's wrong?"

"Maybe you should put some clothes on first," indicating his bare torso with a flourish of her hand.

"Come on, Iz, you've seen me in less than this. We used to bathe together when we were little," he said, trying to make her crack a smile. She just stared at him, _well she's not in a good mood,_ he thought. After a moment he said, "Alright then," then proceeded to pick up some random pyjamas, head into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

He emerged a few minutes later, minus the towel, with the edition of multiple pieces of clothing that did not go together in the slightest. Magnus would not be happy, neither would Izzy if she was in a better mood, but he'd enver cared about fashion, therefore he was not ashamed of the mismatched pyjamas he found himself in. Alec grabbed a wooden chair from by the desk in his room and dragged it next to the bed, placing it in front of his sister. He waited for her to say something. Finally she did.

"Alec," she began, pausing after she said his name.

"Yes?" He prompted when she gave no sign of continuing with the sentence.

"I need to talk to you," she said, looking him straight in the eye, she looked confused.

"I'm all ears," he said, sitting patiently with his hands clasped his in lap.

"I'm just going to be blunt about this," she paused again, as if she was anxious about what she was about to say.

"Isabelle, spit it out, the anticipation is killing me," he said, trying to get her to finish her damn sentence.

She took a deep breath, as if anticipating Alec to shout at her afterwards, "Do you like Magnus?"

Confusion flitted across Alec's face, then a hint of secrecy. He didn't want to divulge everything to Isabelle until he'd figured everything out for himself, but he couldn't lie to her, he knew that as well as she did.

"Er, yeah I guess. He seems… nice, y'know, for a downworlder," Alec felt a twinge of guilt when calling Magnus a downworlder, like he was just some random warlock or something.

"Alec, don't play stupid, you know what I mean," she said, irritation lining her tone. "I mean, do you _like like_ him."

He had no idea how to answer that question. He knew he definitely liked Magnus in some form. Maybe he held strong feelings for the warlock, and maybe he was just throwing himself at the closest gay man he could find. Even as he thought it he knew it wasn't true, he liked Magnus, even if he didn't want to admit it. So the key to handling an awkward situation was to remain evasive.

"I don't know," was all he said. He could tell that Isabelle didn't believe him at all.

"Alec, this is me you're talking to. I think you do, but you're afraid to admit it," she said with certainty. She crossed her arms loosely across her chest and stared at Alec, waiting for an answer.

He looked at her for about an eight of a second before averting his eyes, unable to look in her eyes and blatantly lie to her. "You know you can't lie to me, Alec. It's _me_. You can tell me anything, you dolt, you know you can."

He knew he couldn't lie to her, so sucking up his courage he planned to admit it (well maybe not all of it). "I know, Iz. Alright, yes I think I might do."

"Aw, Alec," she said, taking both of his hands in her own. "I knew you did," she grinned at him.

The sides of his mouth switched, an almost smile. "Sure you did."

"I am very good at reading you, ya see," she grinned again. A serious expression took its place upon her features. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

That made Alec think, _what am I going to do about it?_ He knew the obvious, he certainly liked Magnus, but that didn't help him decide what to do about it.

"I don't know," he said with as much honesty as he could squeeze into one miniscule sentence. "What do you think I should do?"

She pondered that question for a moment. "I think you should confront him about it. I know you're afraid to admit it to him of all people but you have to grow some balls to get anywhere in life." Well that was blunt.

"You know I can't do that until I know if he likes me back!" Alec cried, horrified just thinking about all the possible outcomes.

She sighed with impatience. "Are you blind? Of course he does, he was bloody flirting with you at his party! I know you're afraid of rejection but that won't happen. Of course he likes you, you idiot."

Alec let that sink in. It might explain the flirtatious manner he sometimes used with Alec, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. False hope isn't great for the insecure. He knew he couldn't handle the rejection, it would completely shatter any confidence he may have gained, no matter how minimal it might have been. "I don't know, Iz," he mumbled.

"There must be something else making you wimp out," she declared, talking more to herself than him. She seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds before realization dawned on her face. "Oh," the sympathy was obvious in every crevice of her face. "Oh, Alec. You can't let that infatuation hold you back."

Alec's face paled. He knew exactly whom she meant. That had also been a strong worry of Alec's, what if he was now repulsed by him if he discovered the truth? Even if he did tell Magnus he couldn't keep it a secret, not from Jace, his parabatai, surely there were laws against it. Sensing Izzy's probing eyes searching his expression, he looked down, trying to shield the whirlwind of emotions he could feel his face morphing into. He could feel her tracing circles soothingly ob their entwined hands.

They sat in silence for a minute or two, when she did speak again her voice softened dramatically, like consoling a hurt 5 year old. "I know you're afraid of the impact it will have on everyone else, like our parents and… Jace, but you can't let that stop you."

"I know, but I don't want to have to face their disapproval, not yet at least," he said, his head still hung slightly.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Then _don't_." The way she accentuated the 'don't' made it sound so easy, so obvious, it made Alec chuckle under his breath. The tension in the air seemed to decrease a fraction at the noise.

It would be so easy, so easy to see Magnus in secret, with only Izzy knowing anything about it. Just like with his other secret, it was no different than that really. He wouldn't be lying either, just leaving out certain aspects of the truth. And he could do it, to spare having to see the disappointment in his parents – particularly his fathers – eyes every time he saw them, to avoid it all in order to keep life as it was right now – normal, or as normal as life for a shadowhunter could be.

"I suppose…" he started, finally looking up at Izzy, his voice now clearer than a mumble. "I suppose I could tell him, Magnus that is, without having to tell… our family," he was careful not to single Jace out.

"That's the spirit!" She beamed, a huge smile plastered on her face, Alec grinned the tiniest division, even if he didn't really want to. "Now," her expression sobering slightly, "you have to tell him before you lose your nerve. I'd say go tonight but he might not be in the greatest of moods if you woke him up. Therefore I say you go tomorrow." She grinned again, just to show her enthusiasm.

Alec's heart beat quickened, thinking about confronting the warlock so soon. Isabelle was right though, he had to do it soon or he'd lose his nerve and never do it and never be happy and just, yeah. _I have to do this._ He knew he couldn't keep it a secret from his family forever but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Okay, Iz," he looked her right in the eye, trying to convey how serious he was being. "But you have to promise me that this won't ever be repeated. You can't tell mum or dad or Jace or Max or Clary or _anyone._ Please. At least until I'm ready. Swear to me."

She didn't even hesitate, "I swear," she looked rather excited. "So, tomorrow? I'll cover for you."

Even if his palms grew sweaty just thinking about it Alec couldn't deny he was at least a little excited. "Okay, okay fine. I'll go see him tomorrow."

"Good," she beamed, "because I would have been forced to use some form of violence if you didn't cooperate with me." Her grin widened. Alec let out a chuckle; he didn't doubt that she would.

"Thanks, Iz, for everything," he smiled at her.

"It's what I'm here for, big brother," she stood, pulled Alec up by their still connected hands, stood and hugged him.

They stayed like that for a minute. Thinking he had to break the silence Alec said, "But if you do for some unknown reason decide to reveal certain forbidden pieces of information about me I will go all kind of shit crazy on your ass," he pulled back so he could see her face, pointing a menacing finger in her face, "You have been warned."

Isabelle simply rolled her eyes at him and laughed. "Right," she said, dropping her arms from around Alec and taking a minute step back, "I'll let you get some beauty sleep, big day tomorrow and all that," she headed towards the door, winked at him and left with a cheeky 'Night, Ally-boo' thrown over her rune covered shoulder.

That left Alec all alone in his room, donning mismatched pyjamas, standing next to a wooden chair that was out of its place, a mussed up quilt where Izzy had previously been sitting, an open window that he hadn't been aware of being open letting in a breeze that he also hadn't noticed and all Alec cared about was the warlock he was going to see tomorrow. So as Alec finally moved the chair back to his desk, closed the window on the night, rearranged his quilt so it didn't look like it'd been trampled by a horde of angry Ravener demons anymore and manoeuvred himself under the sheets, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him in its firm grasp and pull him into the depths of unconsciousness, a smile still lingering on his face, and all the while thoughts of said warlock remained in his mind like he had never left at all.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER3

The next day dawned bright and cheerful, the sun blazing down on the busy streets of New York City. Birds chirping, the sounds of cars rushing by, people on their way to work, trains making their way through town, the rustle of leaves in the almost non-existent wind. All these things meant nothing to the young shadowhunter standing in his bedroom window on that sunny day, contemplating how the day would turn out. Because today was the day. To the shadowhunter it felt like the day that could change him, the day in which he finally embraced his sexuality and stopped trying to constantly suppress it.

Alec Lightwood thought of himself as a very observant person. He noticed many things others overlooked, the truth in an expression, the meaning of a touch, the hidden secrets in people eyes. He noticed all the sounds around him on that morning, but he didn't care for them at all, not when he was going to visit a certain warlock today.

He somehow felt lighter than before he went to sleep, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. That might be because of his confession to Isabelle the previous night; he always felt a little better after speaking to his sister.

So Alec, always the early riser, was dressed and awake well before your typical teenage boy. Being a shadowhunter, he was expected to awaken at dawn most mornings, something he seemed exceptionally good at. He sported an old pair of jeans with a hole in one of the knee caps and a plain dark blue t shirt; he didn't care for fashion like Isabelle did.

He had a few hours to kill before he could actually go and see Magnus, Alec didn't think the warlock would be very grateful for the early wake up call, even if he held a little soft spot for him. So he went to the training room, hoping that no one else would hear him if they were awake, primarily Jace. He _really_ didn't want to face that particular shadowhunter today.

He crept through the halls of the Institute, trying his hardest to be surreptitious. It wasn't needed at all; he had etched a soundless rune onto each shoe before leaving his room, just to be extra cautious. The halls in the Institute had never really changed from when Alec had first seen them all those years ago. They were home to him, he felt safe in its walls. He'd grown up here, got his first marks here, became the shadowhunter that was now.

He reached the training room and headed straight to the shooting range, his most comfortable station in the room. Picking up his favourite bow and sheath of arrows he stood up straight, flexing his still sore muscles and taking aim at the various targets around the room. He felt nothing as he hit the centre of the targets almost every time, nerves consumed him on that sunny morning, leaving little room for self-gratification.

He carried on like that for a few hours, taking an arrow from the sheath attached to his back, lining it up in the bow, standing as still as a statue facing the targets, inhale aim, exhale release. The same routine over and over. Time seemed to speed up, it felt like he'd only been there for about 5 minutes, so he was greatly surprised when Isabelle appeared announcing that it was lunch time and not so kindly telling him to get his arse in gear and get to Magnus's house very soon.

The nerves, momentarily numbed from training, flared with a new kind of violence, making Alec's stomach clench unpleasantly. This made him glad he'd skipped lunch, he didn't want to throw up when he was with Magnus – could be seen as a bit of a buzz kill. He headed to the kitchen, filled a glass with water in an attempt to calm his nerves and checked the time. It was 12:27. Surely he'd be awake by now?

Alec knew if he didn't go soon he'd talk himself out of it, then kick himself forever because of his own cowardice, therefore he made a pact with Isabelle. If he hadn't left the Institute by at least 1:00 Izzy had his permission to force him out the doors and lock them behind him, obviously trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as not to alert the other inhabitants of the Institute of this particular venture. This deal made him feel a little better, knowing Isabelle wouldn't even hesitate to shove him out of the doors, almost definietly kicking him in the goolies if he put up even the tiniest trace of resistance.

"Alec, you know if you don't go now you won't go at all," Isabelle reminded him for the tenth time in the past 5 minutes sitting across from him at the table in the kitchen. She had made some kind of 'soup' which looked like it contained every substance found in the cupboards, it looked like cat shit to Alec.

"I know," he said, sounding awfully monotone even to his own ears. Trying not to offend her in some way by his flippant tone he added, "You know I'm just over-cautious. You know I'm a rebels nightmare."

Isabelle chuckled. "Don't I know it."

"Alright, I'll leave now. Right now. Happy?" He asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

She grinned, straightening up and walking to the door ahead of Alec. Well that answered his question. Alec rose from his seat, waltzed cautiously to the door Izzy had just opened, winking at him. "After you, darling brother."

Sighing in exasperation he headed through the door, listening to the sound of Isabelle's footsteps following him to the elevator. Her soft footfalls calmed him, reminding him of the normalities in life, the need to put one foot in front of the other in order to get anywhere in life. He pressed his finger to the cool button on the elevator when they reached it and stood patiently for the grate to open and permit him entrance, the whole time aware of Izzy breathing down his neck with every step. She sounded smug, the dolt.

The grate creaked open, allowing the two shadowhunters to clamber into the elevator. The grate clanked shut after them and slowly descended. Alec's nerves were returning the closer he got to the front doors. In no time at all the doors opened again, and there were the wood panelled front door. Isabelle, seeming to notice his nerves, placed her hand in his and guided him towards the door. She stretched out her other hand and opened the door when they reached it and gestured for him to go ahead. He did.

Alec, hesitating for the briefest of moments, walked outside into the daylight. The sun blared down onto him with a surreal intensity, making him wish he'd worn something more appropriate than jeans. He felt hollow, like his insides had been gouged out with a spoon. He turned back to Isabelle, upon seeing his expression her face softened. "You'll be fine, honestly," she squeezed his hand. "Now get out of my sight and get yourself a warlock," she grinned slyly. Alec smiled a little in response, squeezed Izzy's hand in return and walked down the street, thinking about what was to come.

"Whoever this is had better have a _very_ good reason for disturbing my beauty sleep," a voice growled down the intercom.

Almost the entire trip to Magnus's house Alec had been surprisingly calm, scary calm some might call it. He hadn't thought much about the destination, primarily focusing on the journey itself. Putting one foot in front of the other was a lot easier than thinking about where he was actually going. So the journey to the elusive warlocks humble abode lasted about half as long as Alec have previously thought.

"It's Alec," he said breathlessly, trying to get the two words out in one breath, his nerves mounting.

There was a pause. "Hello again, Alec," Magnus said, his voice softening. "Hold on, I'll buzz you in." At the sound of his voice Alec let out a breath he wasn't aware of holding.

_Well that was easy._ Alec heard the door click open and proceeded up the stairs to the second door. He raised his scarred hand and hesitantly tapped his knuckles on the door. After a moment or so the door was thrown open to reveal a rather bedraggled looking Magnus Bane. He donned a pair of blue and green silk pyjamas, slightly crumpled from what Alec assumed was his recently disturbed slumber. He was barefoot, showcasing his immaculately painted toe nails. His hair hung around his face, making his features more prominent. Alec noted, with a spark of surprise, that the warlock was not wearing any form of make-up, except nail polish. His hair contained no glitter and hung limply, crowning his softened face, not a trace of glitter or eye liner or mascara could be found there either, making him look younger, a new aura of vulnerability about him. Alec was oddly giddy to have seen this other Magnus, the one without the glamour, he preferred this version. He seemed more real to Alec, not something far and out of reach.

Magnus looked at Alec and grinned. "Do what do I have the pleasure of your company for two consecutive days, shadowhunter?" He purred, leaning in the door way. _Again with the bloody doors._

It took him a second to get his bearings. "I, um, said that I'd come and see you again. So this is me," he indicated himself with a flick of wrist, "seeing you again," indicating the house with another flick of his wrist.

For a moment Magnus seemed at a loss for how to respond, then he recovered himself and moved out of the door way. "My company is to die for it's true. Well, I suppose you'd better come in then."

Alec did. He strolled past Magnus and went to the room they had been in the previous day, occupying the same arm chair and sitting back. Chairman Meow quickly landed in his lap again, looking up at him innocently, waiting to be petted. Alec complied, revelling in how soft that cat's fur was. He let out a content purr, snuggling deeper into Alec's lap.

Magnus appeared in the other arm chair, much like the previous day and sat back, regarding the shadowhunter thoughtfully. He placed one leg over the other and laced his hands together, placing them on his knees, still looking at Alec discreetly. After a moment he said, "I'm all ears, what did you want to tell me?"

"I hope that wasn't in a literal sense, it could be potentially problematic," he said, losing his nerve slightly.

After a moment, he grinned and pointed an accusatory finger at the young shadowhunter. "_You_ are avoiding the question."

Alec flushed in embarrassment, looking like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Am not," he muttered, avoiding his eyes, focusing on his gaze on his lap in an attempt to mask his embarrassment.

"Oh yes you are. Now, the question is why?" He leaned forward, scrutinising Alec's face, trying to unearth something from its depth.

Alec looked up and wished he hadn't. Magnus had turned his piercing gaze on him, the yellow and green in his cat eyes glowing, making his head spin and his knees go weak. "I, uh, well I…"

"I thought we were past this, Alexander?" He sighed, sounding a little exasperated.

"So did I," Alec mumbled in return. He heard Magnus snap his fingers and two steaming cups of coffee appeared on the table in front of them. Alec looked at Magnus, a little shocked, a little in awe.

"You didn't pay for them did you?" Alec asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

He merely grinned. "Now that would be telling."

"You should pay for them you know," Alec chided, he felt bad stealing business from this company, even if he had no idea who it was.

"Fine, if it'll help you sleep at night," he snapped his fingers again; presumably to deposit some money at the place he got the coffee.

Alec felt a little better when he knew he wasn't drinking counterfeit coffee so picked his up and took a sip, letting the caffeine seep into his every crevice and energise him. When he looked up again he saw Magnus staring at him, on odd expression on his face.

Alec, being a little self-conscious, asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He seemed to ponder that for a second. "You're not a regular Lightwood are you?" He said, more to himself than to Alec.

Alec just looked at the warlock in confusion. _What did he mean, a regular Lightwood?_

"Shadowhunters, so clueless," Magnus mumbled. "What I mean is that your sister and that Jace are more like the Lightwoods I remember than you are."

Confusion was still present on his face. "Jace? But Jace isn't technically a Lightwood, he's a Wayland."

Magnus looked like he regretted what he'd said, Alec couldn't fathom why that may be. After a moment he said, "Yes, but he acts more like a typical Lightwood than you ever could."

Alec felt a little angry at the insinuations he was making about his family. How dare he assume those things when he barely knew them?

"What's that even supposed to mean?" He asked, anger lining his tone.

Magnus looked shocked at Alec's outburst. "I wasn't trying to offend you."

"Well just don't talk about my family like that please," he said, his anger quickly depleting. He didn't like people talking about Jace and Izzy like that, especially Izzy. After everything they'd been through he was so protective of his sister.

"Point taken," he said, sounding weary. "I just meant that you're more candid than the others in your family that I've met."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Jace says what he thinks," he said, blushing slightly.

Magnus noticed the tint to the Nephilim's cheeks. "Yes he does, but he says it in different ways. He's arrogant sometimes, using sarcasm to his advantage, hiding behind the wit and the snark. You just say it like it is, when you're not nervous or scared."

Alec looked at him, astounded. He'd noticed all that in the short time he'd known him? "But, Jace is… Jace," he said lamely. "Everybody seems to love him in some way."

"Not," he said, leaning forwards in his chair again, his face closer to Alec, "everyone."

Alec looked down, embarrassed. At the sound of Jace's name rolling off Magnus's tongue so easily his heart quickened. He'd carefully not thought about Jace in his haste to talk to Magnus, knowing it would plant doubt in his head, doubt that he could move on, doubt that he was doing the right thing after all.

When Alec didn't respond Magnus leaned across the table and gently placed his finger under his chin, pulling Alec's face up. When Alec had no choice but to look him in the eye he said softly, sympathy encasing his words, "Does anyone know you're gay?"

Alec, surprised, jerked back like he'd been slapped. He wasn't offended just caught off guard, was he really that obvious? "How… how do you what that?" He was startled that Magnus had come to that conclusion so fast, it was disorientating.

Magnus looked like he didn't know how to respond, he deliberated his answer before finally saying, "I'm a warlock, and a fairly old one at that. I notice things about people, things other people overlook. But that doesn't answer my question, does anyone know?"

"Just Izzy, and Clary but that was accidental," he found that his breathing had increased slightly, making his breaths uneven.

"No-one else? Not at all?" he asked curiously, disbelievingly.

"No," he replied, a little self-consciously. "Why?"

"I'm just surprised no one else noticed. So your parents? Jace? They don't know anything?" As he said it he leaned further forward, his gaze calculating.

"No, they can't know!" He blurted out, his voice rising in anxiety.

"Why?" his face scrunched up in concentration, his eyebrows knitting together.

He couldn't tell him why. So he just said, albeit lamely, "They just… cant, okay?"

"They obviously care about you a great deal, you parents rushed back all the way from Idris when you were hurt and Jace went to pieces. They care about you, I think you could tell Jace at least," he said solemnly.

"I just can't, okay. I can't do it. I'm fine with just Isabelle knowing, I kind of have to live with Clary knowing and now you know. That's _more_ than enough for me."

"I think you should, it'll make you feel better," he said gently, reassuring him.

"I've never had a date, never kissed anybody, I'm about as sexually active as a door stop," he said, standing up in exclamation, causing Chairman Meow to jump off his lap indignantly. "I can't-"

Alec was abruptly interrupted by the arrival of another pair of lips seemingly glued to his own, causing him to squeak in surprise. Magnus Bane was kissing Alec Lightwood. He wasn't even sure how Magnus had gotten across the table so quick, he'd just appeared there, he felt disorientated all over again. The desire and loneliness he had endured for most of his life melted away, seared away by the heat of their intimacy. They fit together effortlessly, he was engulfed in fire and a passion he didn't think he was possible of. His lips were soft on his, the heat coursing through both of their bodies awakened every fibre and cell and nerve in Alec's body – he felt alive for the first time.

For the first few seconds he remained unresponsive, not sure what to do, scared he do something wrong and make a prat out of himself, then that dissolved wholly. Alec hesitantly moved his hands to the warlocks hair, revelling in how soft and silky it was, running his hands through it luxuriously once he gained a little confidence. _So glad there are now spikes in it today_ he noted. He could feel Magnus's skilled hands fingering either side of his waist, pulling him closer to him. Alec removed his hands from his hair and placed them on either side of Magnus's face, the moment oddly intimate.

Much too soon for Alec's liking they pulled apart, hands lingering where they had previously been. For a moment neither of them said anything, just stared at each other, temporarily lost in the moment. Then Alec's cheeks burned beet red and he hung his head in embarrassment. Almost instantly he felt a hand under his chin and pulling his smouldering face up.

Having got his attention, Magnus stole one more lingering kiss on the shadowhunters lips. Then he chuckled, making Alec self-conscious all over again. When Magnus didn't offer a reason for his laughter Alec asked, "What?"

Magnus moved a hand from Alec's waist and gently stroked his red cheek, "So easily embarrassed," he said, dropping his hand to join the other at Alec's waist, "And I think you can safely say you've been kissed now."

Alec grinned at the warlock, the euphoria he had felt before still burning inside him like a crescendo of flames. "I suppose I can," his hands wrapped around his neck, interlocking his fingers. "But I still have two more things to achieve so," he paused, summoning all his courage, "Will you go out with me?" It all came out in one breath, Alec really hoped he'd heard it the first time, he was afraid he'd puke if he had to repeat it.

"Yes that sounds divine," his voice resounding in Alec's head like a purr. "I'll cook for you, come here at around 7ish on Saturday?" He asked. Alec thought he made this whole romance thing sound really easy, the amount of courage he'd had to summon just to come here and the words just roll off the warlocks tongue effortlessly. It wasn't fair.

"That sounds great, Magnus," he grinned.

"Good," he grinned in return. After a moment he said offhandedly, "I think our coffee's gone cold."

Alec laughed, feeling his nerves diminish, feeling comfortable with Magnus. "I don't care about the coffee honestly, I am quite surprised we didn't knock any over." He couldn't help but smirk.

"Yet," he said mischievously. He leaned towards Alec's ear, he felt his warm breath on his ear lobe. "There's still time," he whispered suggestively in his ear.

He blushed at the insinuation, feeling Magnus's chuckle when he saw. "I _love_ making you turn that colour," which made him go a darker shade of red.

And it was on that day that Alexander Lightwood finally embraced his sexuality and threw himself into its waiting grasp. Because he, Alec, liked one Magnus Bane and one Magnus Bane liked him, Alec, in return. Therefore he was happy, even for a little while. He forgot about Isabelle who would be waiting anxiously at the Institute for Alec to come home and demand to know everything, and how he knew he'd have to tell his family about him before it was too late, and having to tell Jace and all the problems that would produce. And he momentarily forgot about Valentine and the threat on the shadowhunter world and all the lies and secrets because he was content, in the arms of this warlock. And it was in that moment that he really understood why everyone was so hyped when it came to love, because he could finally relate to it, in his own little way.


End file.
